Gradable fence.



M. LACHMAN.

GRADABLE FENCE.

APPLICATION FIL'ED SEPT. 27. "H5.

Patented July g 2 SHEETS-SHEET A g %?r flzmz'ellaciwzam.

ATTORNEYS.

M. LACHMAN.

GRADABLE FENCE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 21. I915.

Patented July 24,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A TTOR/VEYS UNITED STATES PATENT MAURICE LACHMAN, on NEW YORK, N. Y.,AssIeNoR To nNIvnRsaL LECTRIC WELDING COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ACORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

GRADABLE FENCE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jul 24, 1917.

Application filed'September 27, 1915. Serial No. 52,803.

To all whom z't may concern:

Be it known that I, MAURICE LAOHMAN, a.citizen of the United States, anda resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gradable Fences, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to the construction of fences or otherinclosures and particularly to a gradabl'e fence; that is, the structurecan be readily made, after manufacture of the same is complete, to takeany grade or slope of the ground upon which it is installed and thepickets will re main vertical.

The object of the invention is to avoid the necessity of making'aspecial fence structure for varying grades of ground upon which it mightbe desired to erect it and at the same time to attain .a structure whichwill be strong and lasting;

A further objectis' to provide a gradable V fence in which the'original'strength of the parts is maintained.

It has been the general practice heretofore when building a fence forerection on ground having "more or less grade or slope to survey theland and manufacture the "fence to conform to such survey, the picketsand rails of the fence being in this case rigidly secured to each other.This necessarily adds greatly to the cost of the fence.

According to this invention thefpickets and rails are so connectedtogether that one lS Tf T8 tO turn or 'changeits' position relative tothe other so that the fence can 'be; made to conform to any-grade afterit has been completely manufactured and the pickets will be maintainedin a vertical position. V 7

To these ends the invention consists in the improved construction offence or other 'inclosure hereinafter more particularly 'described and'thenjspeeified in the claims.

'Inthe accompanying"drawings, Figure 1 is afront elevation of a fenceconstructedin accordance with this invention, the parts being. shown intheir relative positions as installed on level ground.

fFig 2 is a similar view of'the same section of "fence illustrating thesame when installed ona grade.

Fig. 3 is an -enlargedfront elevation of a portion of the fence shown inFigs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 4. is a transverse vertical section taken on the line '1- l Fig. 3,the picket being shown in elevation and broken away between the rails.In this figure and in the following figures the connection of the picketwith the upper rail only is shown, it being understood that theconnection with the lower rail or any number ofrails which may beemployed is merely a duplicate of the connection or joint shown.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on Y the line 55 Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a plan looking down on top of the structure, part of the railat the joint being broken away.

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate modifications in the manner of forming thejoint or connection between the picket and rails.

Fig. 9 illustrates a further modification and Fig. 10 is a horizontalsection of apart of a fence structure having joints as illustrated in 9,the'section being taken-on the line 101O Fig. 9. j Figs. 11 and 12 areVertical section and horizontal section respec'tively'of a furthermodification; the section in Fig. 11 being taken on the line 11-11 Fig.12 and the section in Fig. 12 being taken on the line 1212' of Fig. 11.7

In'the drawings 1 indicates metal ,pic'kets and 2 indicates metallicrails-of whichtheie may be any desired number and which are intersectedby the pickets as is usual in fence constructions. Preferably each railcomprises a pair of spaced bars 2, 2 between which the pickets 1 arelocated.

At each intersection of the rails and pickets a pivoted joint orswiveling connection is made between the rail and picketso that in thecompleted structure the; picket socket joint between the two membersflateach intersecting point is provided as -there'- by the; members are notweakened and main- 'tain at the least their original str'ength.

The ball and socket joint may be provided in any suitable manner, theball part being formed on either member and the co-acting socket on theother member.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, theball 3 is formed at the desired place on the picket 1, which is a roundrod, preferably by expanding or swelling the metal of the picket itself.This may if desired be readily accomplished in any suitable type ofelectric heating apparatus wherein the picket is held in suitable clampsand an electric current passed from one clamp to the other. As thematerial of the picket between the clamps heats due to the passage ofthe current, pressure is applied longitudinally of the picket preferablyby moving one or both of the clamps toward the other and an upset, ballor protuberance 3 is obtained. The manner of attaining this ball orupset electrically is so well known that further description is deemedunnecessary.

The rails which are preferably formed of two channel-shaped bars 2, 2for strength, are arranged back to back and each bar is provided with asocket, recess or cavity 1 in which the ball 3 seats, there being enoughfreedom of movement between the ball 3 and sockets 41- to permitshifting of the angular relation of the rail relative to the picket inthe plane of the joint.

The bars 2, 2 of the rails are secured together in proper spacedrelation to hold the pickets at one point of the rails, yet permitrelative angular movement of the same, by means of spacing memberspreferably in the form of a button 5 disposed between the bars 2, 2 inthe spaces between the pickets 1. The buttons may be secured to the bars5 in any desired manner but preferably by electrically welding them toeach bar. The welding may be readily effected by providing protuberancesor nibs 6 on opposite faces of the buttons (see Fig. 5) and weldingthese protuberances to the surface of the bars as will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the electric welding art. The buttons arealso preferably provided with an annular ridge or flange 7 on eachsurface which after the weld is completed bears against the surface ofthe bar and conceals the bur resulting from the upsetting action inwelding the protuberance or nib 6.

Instead of providing the picket with a ball by the operation abovedescribed a pair of disks or pieces 8 such as shown in Fig. 8, eachhaving a convex outer surface, may be electrically welded or otherwiseintegrally securedto the opposite sides of the picket. In which ever waythe ball is provided it will be seen that it is substantially integralwith the picket.

If desired the ball and socket joint may be provided as shown in Fig. 7in which the picket 1 is provided with oppositely disposed recesses orcavities 9 at the desired point of intersection with the rail and thebars 2, 2 each provided with a convex protuberance 10 engaging in therecesses 9. The cavities 9 and protuberances 10 may be readily formed ina suitable press by proper cues.

Referring to Figs. 9 and 10, the pickets are formed of channel-shapedbars 11 in the base of which a socket or cavity 12 is formed at thedesired point of intersection. The

protuberance 10 of the bar 2 engages in this socket and permits turning.In this case the flanges 18 of the picket l1 merely bear against theinner surface of the bar 2 which does not need to have any furtherconnection with the picket, the bars 2 and 2 being secured together inproperspaced relation by the buttons 5 as heretofore.

In the modification illustrated in Figs.

l1 and 12, the picket is in the form of a V- shaped bar 14, the apex ofwhich bears against the inner surface of the bar 2. At the desired pointof intersection preferably the picket is provided with a block 15 havinga convex outer surface, said block being suitably secured to the picketin the space between the free edge of the V shape. The securing of theblock may be done in any manner, by welding if desired. The

convex surface of the block seats inthe cavity, or socket 10, of the bar2 and permits turning, the bars 2 and 2 being secured together byspacing members 5 as in the previous cases.

It will beunderstood that the invention is capable of being carried intopractice in numerous ways and that it is not limited to theconstructions shown and described except as may be expressed in theappended rails and pickets, the members of saidjoint 7 beingsubstantially integral with the rail and picket respectively.

3. In a fence, the combination of a rail comprising a pair of spacedbars, a picket located between said bars and pivoted with respectthereto and independent spacing means between said bars by which saidbars are secured to each other.

4. A fence comprising a rail, a picket intersecting said rail, a semiball and socket joint at said intersection and means for securlng saidpicket to said rail.

5. A fence comprislng a picket, a rail comprising a pair of spaced barsbetween which the picket is located, a connection in the nature of aball and socket joint between the rail and picket and means joining thespaced bars of the rail to each other.

6. A fence comprising a picket, a rail comprising a pair of spaced barsbetween which the picket is located, a connection in the nature of aball and socket joint between the rail and picket and spacing meansbetween the bars of the rail.

7. A fence comprising a pair of spaced bars forming the rail, a picketdisposed in the space between said bars and intersecting said rail, aconnection in the nature of a ball and socket joint between the rail andpicket and spacing means between the bars of the rail and adapted tojoin the bars together.

8. A fence comprising picket and rail members, a protuberance on onemember and a cavity in the other member in which the protuberance seatsand swivels.

9. A fence comprising picket and rail members, a ball-shaped part on thepicket and a socket in the rail forming a seat for the ball-shaped partand in which said part is free to swivel.

10. A fence comprising picket and rail Copies of this patent may beobtained for members, a semi-ball-shaped part on one of said members anda socket in the other member in which said semi-ball-shaped part issecured to permit turning of the picket members with relation to therail members in the plane of the fence.

11. A fence having a swiveling connection between its rails and pickets,said connection being adapted to allow the pickets to turn with relationto the rails in the plane of the fence, one member of the swivel beingformed on the rail and the other on the picket.

12. A fence the picket and rail members of which have a swivelingconnection adapted to allow the picket to turn with relation to the railin the plane of the fence, said swiveling connection being formed by aballshaped part on the picket pivotally connected to the rail.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 25th day of September, A. D. 1915.

MAURICE LACHMAN.

Witnesses:

F. B. TOWNSEND, REMINGTON Scorer.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0.

